Mega Man G
by Etero Narciss
Summary: It's been six months since the destruction of the RLF, yet still peace is a far off dream. An old evil has returned to exact his revenge on the world, and a robot from Rockman's past comes to finish a battle that has been in the making for over a century.
1. Prologue

Prologue

**Prologue**

**Somewhere in the jungles of Africa…**

Hot, humid, and irritating. That's how most of the reploids stationed around the perimeter felt as they continued their patrols. The thick jungle canopy blocked out most of the sun, yet the horrid heat and humidity seemed to somehow creep in anyway. They detested being there, but their job was almost finished, so they continued to bear with it. Even now they could hear the sounds of machines working within the perimeter, excavating and boring deep into the earth.

The reploid guards protected a camp that stretched for half a mile in a wide radius. Various tents dotted the site, each containing various research equipment inside, these of which were in turn operated by various worker reploids and researchers. It was well hidden within the jungle, and that was exactly how they wanted it. What they were searching for wasn't exactly something they wanted anyone to know. In the middle of this camp were various digger and driller vehicles boring and excavating into the ground, working steadily to remove the earth from their objective.

Finally, the machines stopped as they uncovered a large, metallic hatch that sealed the laboratory they had been looking for so long. After clearing the area, a team of reploids went in and set up various high-powered explosives. Once the bombs were set, they all retreated from the blast area and hid behind cover. One pulled out a remote and clicked the red switch. A tremendous explosion that could be heard for a mile rung out, and dirt and rock was blown into the air.

Once everything cleared again, the team went back to investigate and were shocked to find that their explosives hadn't even dented the hatch. They all looked at each other dubiously, and then looked back at the sound of approaching footsteps. They all moved aside to allow their leader to walk past them.

Their leader was a female reploid; she donned red armor that contorted perfectly with her slender figure and had long blonde hair below her helmet. She had five blue crystals; one for each arm, the back of her hands, and one on her chest, and these glowed as she approached the door. She stood over the hatch, knelt down on one knee and extended her right hand, leaving it just inches above the hatch. Soon a small W began to shine on the hatch. She smiled satisfied.

"We're in the right place," she said. She reached down and held on to the wheel. She easily turned it and pulled the hatch open, much to the surprise of the surrounding reploids.

"Man, what was the point of the bombs then?" One of the reploids asked his companion. The other one just shrugged.

"Lieutenant," their leader called, and one of the more rugged looking reploids stepped forth. "Tighten security around the perimeter."

"If you don't mind me asking, ma'am, what exactly are we looking out for? It doesn't seem like there's anybody for miles around us."

"That explosion will no doubt attract unwanted attention," she told her lieutenant. "Besides, I have a feeling we are not alone here."

The lieutenant nodded, gave her a single salute, and hurried off to follow her orders. The commander then jumped down the hatch, followed closely by two others.

Meanwhile, far off in the south perimeter, a single reploid leered down at the patrolling guards from atop a tree. He was completely unseen, as he imitated the texture and color of the bark and surrounding greenery perfectly. Only the crest on his right chest was unchanged; it was a white crest shaped like a wolf's head with its maw open. It was the one thing he couldn't and wouldn't change. Just as the two guards disappeared into the jungle, the reploid known as Slith slowly began to get off the trunk and crawl on the branch.

"They've been tightening security," he said in a low hiss, his slit-like pupils moving around as his armor returned to its natural scale green color. "I think they suspect my presence."

He heard over the intercom of his helmet the general's voice, speaking as sternly as ever and seemingly unaffected at the news that his subordinate was risking a higher chance of detection. Slith simply sighed at all the love.

"Then be more careful, Slith. We can't risk having you discovered before we can surmise what these people are planning. Remember; avoid contact with the enemy at all costs."

"Yes, I know already," Slith replied, and began to jump from branch to branch, easily moving past the perimeter and avoiding the trip lasers that had been set up. "What is it I'm looking for, though? The mission objectives were oddly vague back at the briefing."

"You have already been told everything you need to know," the general told him. "There have been many strange attacks lately, most of which seemed to have been aimed at reploid centers around the world. Why this is happening, we don't know, and that's what we intend to find out."

"And no one has found out about the organization behind it? That is, assuming that there's any organization at all."

"These attacks are far too related and follow the exact same pattern; all reploids in the area, whether active or otherwise, are destroyed, along with the entire building and any humans that could be inside." The general's voice was noticeably grim.

"Sounds like something the Reploid Liberation Front would do," Slith said, stopping and camouflaging himself against another tree as another patrol walked by.

"Yes," the General agreed. "It would be great if it was that simple, but the R.L.F. had been disbanded after Marduk's death six months ago."

"Yes yes," Slith said as he began to move again. "I remember the newscast about the whole thing."

He finally arrived right at the edge of the camp. He stood straight and looked into the camp from up high the tree. He saw all the digger vehicles in the center and smirked. He jumped down from the branch unto the ground and crouched low.

"General, I've found the site. It looks like you were right; they've been digging up something here. I can see various digger droids and vehicles near the center of the camp. Whatever it might be, it looks like they're done. Might explain why they suddenly increased the patrols."

"Then you know what you have to do," the general said. "Infiltrate the camp and find out what they've been digging. If there is anything there of value to them, then it might just be dangerous to us."

"It sounds like you're already certain that these people are responsible for the attacks," Slith said with a small, amused smile.

"Isn't it like that always?" His general asked rhetorically. "Now move out, soldier."

"Yes sir."

Slith immediately went down to his stomach, and began to prowl the ground with amazing speed and fluidity, looking almost like a snake as he moved between the tents and past the guards. A full face mask began to cover his face, and soon his entire armor began to change, taking the appearance of the ground he was covering. He was so well camouflaged he was practically invisible, and this suited him perfectly.

In a matter of minutes he made it to the dig site, which wasn't that much protected. Obviously, no one expected that anybody could sneak in this deep without detection, and Slith chuckled at this small yet costly arrogance. He continued to crawl towards his objective silently, and made it all the way to the hatch before speaking over the comm again.

"I've made it to the dig site. It looks like they uncovered a hatch that leads underground. I'm guessing there's some complex inside that they're interested in. I haven't been seen. I'm going in to investigate. Over and out." He took a last look around his surroundings, and then leaped into the hatch down.

He landed down on one knee after a surprisingly short drop, then quickly lifted his hand and pointed his outstretched fingers in front of him. Each of his fingers opened at the tip, revealing small holes that served as his buster. He aimed at either side, and soon realized that there was only one considerably dark hall forward. Keeping a low profile, he began to move into the complex.

The first thing he noticed was the lack of any real paths; it was a very straightforward journey. He would press himself against the wall at each turn, but when he investigated he found no one. No one was patrolling. No one was lost. There simply was nobody around.

After four halls he finally came upon a fork on the halls. He looked at each one dubiously and wondered which he should take until he heard the unmistakable sounds of keyboard tapping. He turned his buster to the upper hall and began to approach cautiously. He could see a faint light from a door a bit farther ahead. He heard voices as well. He pressed himself against the wall, keeping low still as he looked into the room.

It was dark; almost too dark to make out anything accurately. The only things he could tell was that the room was large; a lab, it seemed, judging from the many old computer panels and much other laboratory equipment, including machines to build reploid parts. He could also make out the figures of three reploids, two of which were standing over one that was working on a computer. The one that caught his attention was the red one that was standing; she looked far too confident to be a regular grunt.

"Sir, I've infiltrated the complex. I think it's some kind of laboratory, but it's too dark to see anything properly. Damn it, if I had known I'd be somewhere dark I'd have taken those NV implants," he added with a frown.

"It's alright. Activate your camera so that we can see for ourselves."

"Roger that," Slith said. He pressed his index and middle fingers to a pressure sensitive trigger on his helmet. The upper right corner of his helmet opened up to reveal a very small lens. This small camera transmitted images straight back to Repliforce headquarters, where the general and his navigators all looked at through the large screen in front of them.

The general frowned, as the camera didn't show much of anything either. "Can you get closer?" He asked Slith.

"I don't think so. I'm too close as it is; I could be seen."

"In that case, get as much as you can and get the hell out of there," Stone told him. "I don't think they'll be standing there much longer."

"Alright, I'll—" He stopped suddenly as the lights of the entire complex suddenly lit up. His eyes widened horribly as he stared at the sight before him; a reploid, his lower torso and every limb missing, hung almost loosely from a mess of cables, all connected to his body. More shockingly, however, was the site of the massive W painted on the wall from which this reploid hung of.

"Holy shit…" Slith said in a low voice.

Stone saw it as well, and he had a look much unlike him; it was fear. Real fear. "It can't be!" He gasped his voice much unlike its usual stern tone. "Slith! Get the hell out of there! Do you hear me?! Slith!" The screen suddenly went black.

Every guard in the camp began to gather around the dig site, having been alerted via comm the presence of an intruder. They surrounded the entrance from up above the crater and aimed down with their weapons. They heard muffled explosions coming from within and steeled themselves. Suddenly, a green reploid jumped out of the hole very fast, and they all knew that was no one they recognized. They all opened fire.

Slith continued his ascent until he was well above the firing reploids. His armor was already cracked in various places, and blood poured from under the helmet. He opened up his finger tips again, this time from both hands, and swung his arms in a wide arc around him. The fingers all fired small beams of energy that headed straight for the enemy reploids, and the blast killed and critically wounded most of them.

He began to sprint for the jungle when he landed on the ground, and as he ran he tried to communicate with the general again, but to no avail.

"General!" He hissed angrily, dodging more incoming fire. It was strange how far the edge of the camp seemed all of a sudden. "General, goddammit! Answer! I need to send this footage to you before it's too late!"

He chanced a glance behind him and realized to his irritation that the red armored reploid was still following him. He looked back at the jungle and grinned. Well, if she insisted on fighting him, it would have to be on his terms. He jumped up into the nearby trees and quickly disappeared into the jungle.

In a matter of moments, search teams began to scour the jungle for him. It was eerie, the efficiency with which these reploids worked. He had never seen anything like it, honestly. As he watched, he realized that the red armored commander was among them. He chuckled, and hid away as his armor began to blend with the environment.

It didn't take long for him to make an impact on the search teams. He was quiet and methodical, killing the most isolated units with silent efficiency. A shot here, a cut there, and none would find anything but dead bodies. The search teams continued to peruse the jungle, but the deeper they went, the fewer they were, and the more nervous they got.

Only there commander remained frustratingly calm. She looked at her surroundings, accompanied by her personal bodyguards, not at all affected by the loss of her men. She stepped into a wide clearing; though there was grass that grew up to waist length, there wasn't a tree around for thirty yards. She looked around with narrowed eyes.

"He's here," she said. One of the guards gasped and they all raised their weapons at once, now standing around their leader protectively. Even though they tried looking around more carefully, they couldn't see anyone at all.

Then suddenly, something long and thin stretched out and wrapped itself around the guard's neck. Their commander was agile enough to turn and see for a second at it; it looked like an overstretched tongue. Before she could help the soldier, however, the guard was dragged down into the grass. Everyone could see the grass move as the screaming soldier was dragged away. Then the sickening sound of crushing metal and tearing flesh greeted their ears, and the screaming stopped immediately.

Her bodyguards all changed formation, and immediately the dozen of them stood in front of her in a wedge formation, keeping her close to the man in front as they all took aim. The figure of a reploid slowly rose from the grass, and he had the unfortunate bodyguard's neck clamped tightly in his fangs, blood oil running down the reploids mangled body and Slith's mouth.

"C-Commander Roll, he…" One of the guards said, but kept quiet at her glare.

"Ah, so you have a name then," Slith said with a small chuckle. "Good to know."

"Shit," Roll said in irritation. "Kill him!"

Slith ducked back into the tall grass as the guards began firing at him, bullets whizzing past him as he ran low. Soon, his armor began to change in front of their very eyes, and when the mask covered his face, he disappeared. The guards all changed formation again, the dozen of them standing around their Commander in two small rings. They didn't need the order again; they began firing into the foliage, hoping that the volume of fire would keep him at bay until more arrived.

This was not to be, however. One after another began to fall, dragged into the grass and dying the same gruesome way as the first one. They became so edgy they began to fire at the body parts that were thrown in their direction. Slith jumped out of hiding right behind another one when this happened, knocking him on the ground and crouching on his back. He grinned and reached down under the reploid's chin, breaking his neck with one violent pull up. When the guards turned to fire at him, he disappeared into the grass again.

"This can't be happening!" Roll said angrily as she realized her bodyguards had been reduced to five. These reploids were made especially strong, and they were able to fight regular Maverick Hunters in equal terms. That this one reploid managed to take down her men so easily was…

"I get it now," she said. She raised her hand, signaling her men to cease fire. They all did, lowering their weapons and looking around them wearily.

Roll walked past them. She tapped the gems on her arm braces absentmindedly, and then stood still in the middle of the field. Her men looked at her worriedly, but one glance from her told them that they were to remain where they were. She then turned her attention to the seemingly empty field around her.

"That's enough, assassin," she said. Her gems began to glow faintly as she spoke, and her expression was slowly hardening. "I'm not going to let you kill anyone else."

She heard Slith's voice as he laughed; it seemed to come from all around them, and her men raised their guns, aiming uncertainly at an invisible opponent. She merely stood still, ignoring the mocking laughter that had arisen.

"So, the noble commander steps forth to protect her men," Slith said, his voice noticeably nearer. "A futile gesture, but I'll play along."

_My right!_ Roll thought to herself as she turned at the direction of Slith's voice. She pointed the gem buster forward and fired several small beams, saturating the area with explosions. She glared silently, and then gasped as she heard the soft sound of grass moving behind her. She turned quickly again, and sure enough, Slith was above her, pointing his fingers straight at her. He opened fire, and Roll dashed out of the way, the beams exploding behind her. Slith ducked under the grass again and disappeared.

"He can throw his voice too?" She wondered aloud, standing still and looking around her, her arms following her sight. She could hear Slith laugh again.

"Yesss," he hissed. "Sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. All can be fooled and none can be relied upon. To try to find me with those is like trying to find your own shadow in the dark."

Suddenly, beams shot out of the grass, and Roll did a roll to the side to avoid them. She growled as she fired in the direction the beams came from, once again hitting nothing.

"You could try burning the grass away if you like," Slith's voice told her. "Of course, you'd have to chase me around the jungle." He chuckled darkly. "I doubt you want that."

"Shit," Roll said. She knew he was right, and only now did she finally realize why he had dragged them out here into the jungle, into these grasslands. He knew they wouldn't leave this place, as this was the best place to kill him for sure. Out in the jungle, he'd vanish. He must want to stay to ensure that Roll herself would stay and fight.

_He means to kill me, knowing now that I'm the commander, _she finally concluded. _And he's at a complete advantage here. Goddamn, he's good._

She sighed, standing back up and cracking her knuckles. "I'm just going to have to be better then," she told herself. She gripped one of her gems and pulled it off. "Let's go; round two!"

She suddenly turned and began to dash away, heading straight for the jungle. Slith watched her dash and tilted his head curiously.

"So she's finally lost her nerve," he said, grinning. "Very well; I'll kill her now." He kept a low profile still, and began to dash straight in her direction. Roll's bodyguards couldn't help, because Slith moved so carefully and quickly that the grass barely registered his passing.

Roll looked over shoulder, dropping the gem with as much subtlety as it was possible. She continued to dash, and the edge of the jungle was nearing. "Come on," she said, hoping that this would work.

Slith continued with his fast pursuit, and was so focused that he didn't notice as he stepped on the dropped gem. A red light began to blink from the gem, but it was too late for him to realize that. Roll, on the other hand, had been waiting for just that, and the signal it emitted told her exactly where Slith was standing at that moment.

"Now!" She cried, turning a full 180 and firing a charged up beam with her other arm. Slith gasped audibly, jumping up high to avoid the blast, but exposing himself completely. Roll could see his wide eyes as the assassin no doubt registered the kind of trouble he had gotten himself in.

"You're mine!" Roll shouted, jumping up to greet him. Slith cursed audibly as his fingers opened up again to reveal small sharp claws, but it was too late for him. Roll ejected a single beam saber from her back. Grasping it tightly with her right hand, she swung it down, cutting off his right arm and slicing into his side. Blood sprayed out as both reploids landed behind one another.

Roll put away her beam saber, then turned to face Slith, who was glaring at her while pressing his hand against the uncontrollably bleeding wound. He grinned, blood seeping down his lips. "Y-You're good, C-Commander."

"Your reputation precedes you, Slith, formerly known as Hidden Wolf."

Slith gasped, then coughed out and grinned again. "So… you knew."

Roll nodded. "I know about the Pack," she told him. "No one else wears that crest." She pointed at the wolf head engraved on Slith's chest.

"Yeah… It was my only real weakness. White isn't… good on a green… backdrop…" He chuckled as he began to wheeze. "Shame… you couldn't… figure that out… sooner."

Roll couldn't help but feel irritated at this reploid's apparent joy. Something was wrong. "What did you do?" She asked him angrily, pointing her gem buster right at him.

Slith laughed, and then coughed again. "All… I did… was… buy… some time…" He fell to his knees, grinning still.

"Time for what?!" Roll shouted alarmed. Then one of her guards called out with alarming news.

"Commander Roll! We found a long range transmitter hidden in the grass! It looks like it sent data, but it wasn't towards the Repliforce Headquarters! It's too encrypted to find anything else without the proper equipment!"

"What?!" Roll shouted, and then turned on Slith furiously. Now she understood. She had been tricked! "Who did you send that to?!" She asked furiously.

"W-Wouldn't… you… like to… know…?" He said. He coughed again, and with a final grin, fell on his face and died.

Roll growled furiously, and then turned on her men. "Get that back to base and see if we can trace the signal!"

As soon as she finished that sentence the transmitter crackled with electricity and caught fire. The guard let it go quickly, and Roll had to watch in suppressed fury as the only way to trace that signal vanished. She turned furiously on the dead Slith and pointed her gem buster right at the corpse. She charged it to full and blasted it to pieces.

"Not the calm kind of person, are you Commander?"

Roll suddenly turned towards the sound of the feminine voice that addressed her. At the edge of the grassland, sitting on a branch of a tall, thick tree, was the reploid woman merely known as Mother. This reploid looked like a healthy middle aged woman, with a very small wrinkle forming in her smiling face. She had long blue hair that flowed out from the back of her white helmet and went down to her back. Her armor was blue and white, and her strange silver green eyes gazed peacefully and amusedly at Roll. On her chest armor was the white crest of a wolf head; just like Slith's.

"Mother," Roll said. Her expression hardened quickly. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"I'm afraid I only just arrived," she told Roll very serenely. "It's a shame, really. I was hoping to save the child, but I guess there was no point. He's as stubborn as the other one."

"He just sent a heavily encrypted message through unknown channels towards an unknown receiver!" Roll said, having no patience at the moment for the woman's laments. "Do you have any idea where it might have gone?!"

"I might," Mother said, entirely unaffected by Roll's tone. "It wouldn't matter, though. You won't find him even if I told you."

"The hell we wouldn't! This could jeopardize everything!" She shouted angrily.

"Calm down, Commander. This will work to our advantage," Mother told her. Roll blinked confused.

"How will this work to our advantage?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched Mother jump down from the tree.

"It seems that our leader has been watching everything, and has concluded that this will take us down the best course of action for our objectives. The ensuing chaos will undoubtedly bring us various opportunities to try out the new body for our guest and…" She looked at Roll with a smile. "Speaking of which, how goes the resuscitation?"

"It's going according to plan. All systems have gone online, and the mind's relatively intact. It's a matter of erasing his memories and getting him on his new body."

"I see," Mother said, looking away at the distant trees and folding her arms on top of one another. "As I was saying, the ensuing chaos will allow many combat tests to be done. Plus, Duo will be able to begin his mission."

"So, they finished repairing him?" Roll asked, now genuinely interested.

"Yes. We were able to finally suppress him and implant the virus." She glanced back and saw that Roll had decided to look away; there was a strange solemn expression on the young Commander. Mother chuckled.

"Besides, it will bring _him_ to us."

Roll's expression hardened almost instantly. "I know. There's no doubt the Maverick Hunter would come. When he does…" She gripped her hands tightly.

"Yes, we shall greet him in the manner most befitting of him," Mother said, chuckling again as she looked at the horizon. The atmosphere around gradually got colder, and snow began to fall. Mother chuckled. "I love snow."

Roll looked at her questioningly.

"It is… pure, in every sense of the word." She stretched out her arms towards the sky, letting snow flakes gently fall on her face. "This world… needs that purity."


	2. Wolf's Maw

Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**The Wolf's Maw**

It was a bright sunny Sunday over the city of New Capital, the clear blue sky sign of a peace that was rare those days. The many towering structures gleamed like towers of glass under the bright sun, and the city itself had an air of joy about it. It should, as it was the celebration of it's creation after the destruction of the previous Capital city. This one was a construction to show the world that no matter what, Humanity would always rise again from the ashes. It's incredibly fast completion, and the news that a new Maverick Hunter HQ would be constructed there, only gave confidence to the citizens who now lived there.

At the center of the large city was the Hall of Science, a massive laboratory complex where all the major technological researches were destined to be made. Inside the massive complex were the most advanced supercomputers and processing plants that existed, with enough security inside to be considered a military installation. However, as the paper of the day clearly stated again and again, it was strictly created for civilian and domestic technology. Of course, it was hard to belief such claims, but it nevertheless made people smile, and that was all good and well for the people in charge.

Sunday was also a special day in that it was the day that Minerva Anastasia, a Russian scientist of great renown, would inaugurate the recently completed complex where she herself would work at. Many in the scientific community knew how proud the woman was of her new position, as she was deemed Chief Researcher of the complex, effectively in charge of all operations that took place. None were disgruntled over this, since they knew that there was no better person for the job.

One look at Minerva, however, would make one wonder how she ever became a scientist. A middle aged woman near her forties, she nonetheless maintained an attractive figure, which she herself usually claims that it was because of all the workload she had. She was a dirty blonde, with bright green eyes that were always narrowed and observant, and many fellow researchers could attest to her piercing gaze, which usually gave the impression that she could read a man, or machine's, thoughts. She usually stuck a cigarette between her teeth and was well known for holding a shot glass at all times, usually filled with vodka.

Completing this most peculiar look was her scar. She had a large scar that went down her right eye and stopped at her chin. Nobody knew how she got the scar, and she never told anyone. Some believe that the scar came from one of her creations that went wrong, while others believed that it was a wound inflicted on her back in Russia when she was a young girl. It was a matter of great curiosity to many people. Axl himself couldn't help but wonder how she got it, and he told X and Zero about it as they escorted her car in their hover bikes towards the complex.

"Have you guys ever wondered how she got the scar?" Axl asked them as he sped up a bit to be at earshot of them.

"No more than I've ever wondered about yours," Zero replied coldly.

Axl frowned. "Jeez, what's with the tone?"

"Zero isn't happy with being here," X answered when he realized Zero wouldn't.

"Why?" Axl asked, turning his head to X now. "This is supposed to be a big deal, isn't it?"

"Our skills are being wasted here," Zero told him. "We should be at the frontlines where we are needed, not doing the kind of duties suited for lower-class hunters."

X sighed, shaking his head. "I'm kinda glad we got sent here. It's a nice break from it all, after all."

Axl chuckled a bit, and Zero looked back at him questioningly. "What is it?"

Axl shook his head. "It's just that when you mentioned skills, you said "our". You included me in it!" He grinned happily.

Zero sighed, and X couldn't help but let out a small laugh of his own.

The trio escorted the scientist's car all the way to the Hall of Science, where they stopped at the back entrance. The hover bikes lowered to the ground silently, and the three climbed out of them. The reploid driver stepped out of the car and opened the door, bowing slightly as two figures stepped out of the vehicle.

The first one was a girl dressed in the frilliest clothing any of the reploids had ever seen. It was a strange combination of pink and white that made Axl's brain swirl as he tried to take it in. The girl's face was a pale white, and her eyes were as pink as her clothes. The girl straightened her blouse and small hat, and bowed at the three when she saw them. She stepped out to allow Minerva to exit the car, this one wearing her usually messy hair in a tight bun. She also wore a white lab coat, black high heels and a violet buttoned shirt. She looked like she was about to delve into research rather than give a speech. She smiled at the sight of the three.

"Ah, well if it isn't my great protectors?" She said in a very heavy accent. She pulled out a cigarette from her lab pocket and placed it between her lips. The girl in the frilly dress pulled out a lighter and lit the cigarette for Minerva. The scientist took a long drag and blew out slowly, then smiled at the reploids again.

"I do not believe we have introduced ourselves properly," she said. "My name is Minerva Anastasia, Russian scientist and future Head Researcher of the Hall of Science. The young one accompanying me is Haze. She has already greeted you, I believe."

X nodded, smiling at the scientist and the girl. "It's good to meet you, Miss Anastasia. I'm X, and these are Zero and Axl," he said, pointing at both reploids to help. "We'll be escorting you today."

"Indeed," Minerva said, smiling rather sardonically. She took another drag of her cigarette and chuckled. "It would seem as though the State isn't that confident of my safety in the city, even though it will soon be under the direct supervision of the Maverick Hunters."

"It technically already is, Dr. Anastasia," Zero explained. "But we haven't been able to complete all of the security checks, so there are still possible holes. Considering the attacks that have occurred lately, we have justifiable reason to believe this place could be another target. I believe Commander Signas included this in his report."

"_Da_, _da_," Minerva said, waving her hand in a gesture that said she didn't need to hear more. "We were recommended to cancel the festivity till you completed the security checks. Of course, there was no way we would," she added with a smile.

"It really would have been for the better, though," X said with a small frown. "You'll be making a speech in the outside, and there are too many places in this city from which you could be targeted."

Minerva chuckled. "Indeed. No doubt I run a great risk, but it's one that I must take."

"Why is that, though?" Axl asked her curiously. "Is the speech really that important?"

"Of course it is," Minerva told him. When he looked at her curiously, she began to explain, flicking away the used cigarette. "We live in a dark age, even if there won't be a soul that will admit it. These "Maverick Wars" have beaten us down again and again, and many times it has cost the lives of millions of innocent people. No matter how many times we try, they always seem to beat us back to the beginning, always pushing us to the brink of despair. Still, we continue to live on and thrive, and in many cases, prosper. Why do you think that is?"

Axl shook his head, not knowing what to answer. Zero remained silent, his arms crossed and looking very unwilling to answer. X was the only one who spoke up. "It's hope," he said.

Minerva nodded, smiling once more at X. "Indeed. It is hope; hope for the future, to be more exact." She turned and looked up the large complex, and X was almost certain her eyes had gotten shimmery. "We all want to leave a legacy behind for the future generations. What this legacy will be is up to us entirely, and it is the main drive that keeps both Humans and Reploids from putting guns to their own heads. It is in our nature to worry over the future; we protect our children almost to an instinctive level, as they are the biological legacy we leave behind, a mark that we once existed. It is the same with everything else; everything we build, create and destroy. All is done with the future in mind, and the legacy that will be left behind."

She turned back to face the three reploids, raising her arms slightly in what looked like emotion. "Is your legacy one of destruction, or creation? Will you be remembered as a hero, or a tyrant? Will you lead the world to peace, or will the future you create be one of chaos?"

X realized that when she said these last words, her gaze had turned in his direction. He looked down at the ground for a moment, while Axl remained silent, putting both hands on his hips and looking up at the sky. Only Zero seemed unimpressed.

"That was cute, doctor. I'm guessing its part of your main speech?" He asked her in a heavy tone. The sudden harsh remark made Axl and X jump in surprise. Minerva, on the other, merely chuckled as she pulled out another cigarette and let Haze light it for her.

"You do not like me, _da_?" Minerva asked him, sticking her cigarette between her lips and smiling calmly at him.

"We've seen enough of people like you to know better," Zero said, his tone not changing for anything. "You're all always talking about hope and the future, yet in the end you always have some ulterior motive, some hidden agenda. It doesn't matter how good your initial intentions are, you always change."

"Zero!" X said angrily, having heard enough. "What's the matter with you?!"

Minerva laughed heartily, catching X off guard. Zero remained quiet, though he was just as confused. "Such interesting words Maverick Hunter Zero. I'm curious, however. What do you intend to do, if I actually did have some _ulterior_ motive? Would you stop me?"

X and Axl blinked at her words, but nearly recoiled at Zero's response. "No. I would kill you."

Minerva didn't laugh this time, but still smiled. "_Da_, that is good," she said. "I'll remember it." She chuckled and left for the stage, followed closely by Haze.

"I don't think he likes you very much," the young reploid told her. Minerva chuckled.

"He is of good stock, that Zero," Minerva said, her hands in her lab pockets. "Perhaps a bit brash, but good nevertheless."

Back at the scene, however, there weren't that many good words shared.

"What in the world was that about, Zero?" X asked him, glaring at his friend. "Why would you say such things?!"

"Doppler and Kain were the same as her," Zero told X. "Hell, even Mackwell was the same. This is how they all started out before they turned."

"Even so, there was no reason for you to accuse her of those things. And tell her that you're going to kill her? That was terrible!"

"I know what I said," Zero told X, returning X's gaze. "It doesn't matter now. I don't think we have anything to worry from her."

"What?" X asked, suddenly caught off guard. "Then what was the point of all that?"

"I needed to see what kind of person she was," Zero said, his expression softening for the first time in the entire day. "She seems to be a good person, doesn't she?" Not waiting for an answer, he walked away to their assigned posts.

X sighed while Axl scratched the back of his head. "Doesn't matter how long we know him, he can still get us off balance?" Axl remarked. X shook his head.

"It's just the way Zero is," he told Axl. "We should both get going as well."

"Right, see you later!" Axl said, giving X a short wave and hurrying to his post. X nodded, and then left also.

The Maverick Hunters had been placed in key locations around the Hall of Science, covering the streets, the buildings, and the front plaza of the complex itself. Five squads had been placed to do this; Zero's squad, which covered the streets surrounding the plaza; Axl's squad that covered the buildings facing the plaza, Silveraxe's squad that covered the streets entering the plaza; Hawkeye's squad covered the structures around the complex itself, and X's squad that covered the plaza itself. They kept themselves well out of the way to not raise any alarm, but kept a very careful vigil of their surroundings.

Hawkeye, a reploid whose right eye looked like a cross-hair, was the only one who looked completely relaxed. He lay back on his lawn chair, opening an energy can while observing the proceedings below. He took a long drink before sighing. One of his men approached him with his rifle, which had a barrel longer than he was and was large enough that it would have required three humans to carry it.

"Sir, your rifle is prepped and ready!" The reploid said as he put the weapon beside his leader's lawn chair.

"Good. Now sit back and relax. It's a hot day," Hawkeye told the reploid. The soldier nodded and sat down, pulling out a pair binoculars and looking down at the plaza. He found the scientist Minerva, apparently talking with a few fellow scientists. Haze stood quietly behind her, smiling sweetly while keeping out of the conversation.

"I heard that Minerva had started some form of reforestation program," the reploid said. "I also heard she started with some place called the Congo."

"Yep," Hawkeye said disinterestedly. "She's also responsible for making some of the more portable sub-tanks we've had in ages."

"Wow," the reploid said, awed. "Is it true she's one of the people helping with "new age" reploids?"

"Yep; she's knee-deep in all sorts of stuff. Shame really," he finished as he took another swig.

"Why's that?"

"She's a dying breed," Hawkeye said, getting off his lawn chair and picking up his rifle. "There won't be much of her kind around for a long time; those who dream of the future and do anything they can to achieve it."

The reploid blinked, looking at his leader as he lied down on his stomach and set up his rifle. "Why?" The reploid asked.

Hawkeye turned his head to look at his subordinate, smiling cynically as he answered. "We keep killing them off." He then turned back to his rifle, looking through the scope with his right eye while leaving his subordinate considerably disturbed. Hawkeye could see the scientist clearly through various steel crates. He looked around a bit and smiled satisfactorily that he could cover such a wide range from his position; adjacent buildings, streets and even that far off park with the annoying dogs.

Each of the squad leaders reported to X and Zero; they were all ready and covering their positions fully; if anything was coming, they'd see it first. This satisfied both of them, and X went to stand beside the stage where Minerva would make her speech from. She was already there, silently reading a few notes as they waited for the crowd of reporters to sit in the 200 chairs placed in neat rows for them. Around those, standing expectantly in the plaza, was a burgeoning crowd of civilians and science enthusiasts that wanted to see the grand opening themselves. After they all took their place, Minerva lowered her notes, and smiled at each face before her.

"Here we go," Hawkeye said, looking through his sights at the surrounding structures, including the top of the complex. Soon the Maverick Hunters began their vigil as Minerva Anastasia began her speech.

"Citizens of New Capital, today is a marvelous day for our great civilization!" She yelled out into the microphone. "In a mere six months we have constructed not only one of the greatest cities on Earth, protected none other by the Maverick Hunters, but here we will also begin the research that will lead Humanity to a bright and prosperous future! Here, starting today, my colleagues and I shall begin research that will guarantee the betterment of lives in this city, and in all cities of the world! Our pledge is to…"

As Minerva's speech continued, the Maverick Hunters too continued to survey their surroundings.

"Status report," Zero ordered.

"Clear here," Hawkeye said over the transmitter.

"Clear here as well," Silveraxe said in his deep, booming voice.

"All's well over here too, Zero," Axl reported.

"Nothing's wrong here either," Zero himself said, frowning a bit. _So why can't I shake this feeling that something's wrong?_

"Commander Signas, this is Zero. Do you read?"

"Alia has just patched me through," said their Commander. "What is it, Zero?"

"Everyone that came in here had been thoroughly screened, correct?"

"Down to the last man, woman and child," Signas informed. "We received more than a few share of complaints, that's for sure. We double checked every reploid that came in as well. Everyone's clean."

Zero remained silent for a moment. "Alright then," he finally said. "I still suggest we increase security. I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"I understand, Zero," Signas replied. "Make it so."

"Yes sir," Zero replied.

Meanwhile, X had been busy looking at surrounding crowd. The glow in their faces and the smiles that came when Minerva began her speech made his heart swell. It was good to see people filled with hope in such desperate times. It made all the fighting he and the others had done that much more meaningful. He noticed, however, that one person wasn't smiling. In fact, this young man, with his cap lowered so as to cover his eyes, didn't seem to be paying much attention at all. X blinked, and he suddenly grew suspicious. He narrowed his eyes and got himself as invisibly ready as he could.

The youth didn't move at all, now that X thought about it. Not since the speech had started. As a matter of fact, how long had that youth even being there? X informed everyone else of his suspicions immediately.

"I got a lock on him," Hawkeye said. "Guy with the red cap, right? If he tries anything, I'll off him like a switch."

"That was pretty bad sir," his soldier told him with a small smile.

"Shut up kid."

The youth with the cap suddenly jumped in front of all the reporters, grinning as he revealed a chest full of bombs and timers from under his shirt. Everyone gasped and screamed in panic, but the Maverick Hunters reacted almost instantly. X and Zero fired, taking out both of the reploid's arms while Hawkeye shot the reploid right at the head and Axl fired right through its neck. All that was left of the would-be terrorist was a bloody mess without a head or any arms.

Minerva blinked, apparently unfazed at the violence before her. She lit up another cigarette and smiled at the shocked reporters and civilians. "And, as you may well see, we have nothing to fear so long as we are under the vigil of X and his Maverick Hunters."

People murmured to each other, and some had already started to leave. X went climbed up the stage to Minerva. "We should get going, Dr. Anastasia."

Anastasia sighed, blowing out a faint ring of smoke through her lips. "Indeed," she told X in agreement. "Let's go, Haze."

Haze nodded and made to follow Minerva, and then it happened.

The only one who saw the sign was Hawkeye, who after shooting down the attacker and watched everyone start to leave – some more worriedly than others – couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Jeez, that was so anti-climactic," he mentioned, and ignoring his subordinate's question, pointed his gun straight at Minerva again.

Then he saw it; a miniscule red dot centered right at her chest. Before he could say anything however, he heard a distant boom that sounded like thunder, and a bolt of lighting shot out of the building, punching right through Minerva's chest and blowing her back to pieces. Minerva was lifted three feet off the ground, flying two feet back before landing spread-eagled on the ground, her face frozen in surprise.

The crowd screamed and began to run away; Haze screamed and kneeled beside her doctor, panicking and looking clearly distressed as she held the woman in both arms; chaos ensued as some of the soldiers tried to stop the crowd from trampling them and each other.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" Zero yelled into his intercom as he moved away from the panicked crowd.

Hawkeye growled, and stood up to run to the other side of the floor. He looked out the window, his right eye up-linking with various satellites and GPS signals until he got a lock on the target; a yellow armored reploid that ran at unsettling speeds. He growled, not able to get a good aim.

"I located the Maverick! He's ten clicks north of Zero's position and moving fast! He's headed straight for you, Silveraxe!"

"Understood," Silveraxe responded in his deep, booming voice. He rose to his feet, standing 2 meters tall and sporting thick silver armor while wielding a large axe with a short handle that bore the color of his name. He looked up with his silver eyes, his stony gaze catching the fleeing reploid as it jumped from the roof.

Silveraxe responded immediately; he gripped the handle of his axe with both hands and spun around fully, tossing the axe high into the air. The timing was perfect, and the yellow reploid was struck up the chin with the handle and fell like a rock to the ground, making a small crater in the pavement. Silveraxe raised his hand and caught his axe as easily as though it weighed a pound. Silveraxe's men, many of them armed and equipped for close combat, closed in on the reploid.

"We got him," Silveraxe stated.

Zero, Axl and X were already on their in their hover bikes. X was reasonably reluctant to leave Haze after the young reploid had suffered through such a trauma, but this was important. They had to interrogate the reploid as soon as possible, since there was no doubt in anybody's mind that he didn't work alone.

Meanwhile, Silveraxe's men slowly approached the fallen reploid, who still lay on the floor. Silveraxe rested his axe on his shoulder, still holding it with his right hand, gazing at the fallen reploid with no pity.

"I didn't throw it hard enough to kill you," Silveraxe said, speaking to the fallen Maverick. "Stand up."

The reploid responded to the order, getting back on his feet easily. He looked up, bright yellow eyes glowing with hatred. His mouth bled freely from the blow to his chin, but that was about as far as any visible damage was concerned. Even as Silveraxe drew closer, the reploid's gaze never faltered.

"State your name," Silveraxe ordered, stopping beside one of his men.

The yellow reploid smirked, raised his hand pointed the palms of each at them. Silveraxe and his men suddenly stood in their fighting stances, bracing themselves for the attack. Instead of attacking, however, various lens sprouted from his hands, each one wiggling wildly before stopping and pointing at each fighter.

"The hell?" Silveraxe asked, and then gasped in horrible realization. In the distance, multiple booming sounds rang, as though a thunderstorm was forming nearby. Before Silveraxe could do anything, multiple flashes of lightning exploded through the buildings next to them and tore right through his men, blowing away limbs and lives in moments. Silveraxe shielded himself with his large arms, but the lighting bolts went right through his large, armored arms and tore through his chest as if it were made of paper.

"Silveraxe?! Shit!" Hawkeye yelled, now hurrying through the rooftops, his aide close behind him. "Zero! Something's wrong at Silveraxe's location! I'll go investigate; you guys keep following the bastard! I'm transferring his current coordinates to you now!"

"Roger that," Zero said. The trio sped up in their hover bikes, whizzing past cars and traffic as they hurried through the shortest routes they could find to get reach the Maverick. Finally, they could just see jumping from rooftop to rooftop. They sped up their hover bikes until they became almost blurs to the eyes of passerby. Zero made a motion to X and pointed at a building directly in front of their approach. X nodded, and made the same motion to Axl, who nodded as well.

Suddenly, all three had their hover bikes stop dead. Letting go, the three Hunters jumped towards the structure and triangle jumped as fast as they could up the face of the building, to the awe of various onlookers. They made it to the top in no time and dashed their way to intercept the Maverick. The Maverick had seen them approach, but there was nothing he could do about it. Already other Hunters were gaining on him; there was no other path.

"Hold it right there!" X shouted, pointing his buster at the Maverick.

The reploid stopped in his tracks, glaring at them fiercely. Zero and Axl both pointed their weapons at the reploid as well, and Axl observed that something was moving within the Maverick's hands. He raised an eyebrow curiously at what looked liked worms wriggling in there.

"What's your name?" Zero asked demandingly.

The reploid chuckled, raising his hands up. "They call me Spotter Worm, but you can call me Spot."

The wriggling inside his hands became worse until various cords sprouted from them. They wriggled wildly before each pointed small red lens at the three. Axl gasped.

"Move!" Axl shouted. Neither Zero nor X needed any more warning, and both dashed out of the way as sounds of thunder erupted from the distance, and what looked like lighting shot right past them. Spotter Worm didn't waste his chance, and immediately summoned two energy discs from his hands throwing them both at the hunters as he made his escape again.

The three were already off-balance, and from explosions the energy discs managed to knock them off their feet completely. Just as Spotter Worm seemed to have made his escape, however, a single bullet blew his shoulder completely off. He fell down to the ground, paralyzed with shock, but attempted to get up quickly. He wasn't fast enough, however, as Zero dashed straight for him, knocking him to his back. He lifted his foot and stomped down on Spotter's good arm, crushing the Maverick's arm underfoot. He pointed his beam saber down at Spotter's neck.

"Don't even try it," he told the Maverick. The Maverick growled, but let out a sigh and let his head rest on the floor.

"Shit…" Spotter said dejectedly.

It didn't take long for Spotter to be taken in for questioning; X, Zero, Axl, and Signas oversaw the interrogation from a floor above the interrogation room itself, looking down through the glass as Hawkeye and one interrogator questioned the Maverick. They could hear the words from their room, but from the sounds of it, it wasn't going very well.

"I can't believe we're using this room already," Axl remarked with a small frown. "We barely just set up here."

"Be happy that we have a place to question him," Signas told Axl. "We were planning to make this room the last one."

"Commander, how's Haze?" X asked Signas with raised eyebrows.

"Well, she wasn't at all happy that Minerva had made a decoy machine without telling her," Signas explained, scratching his chin absentmindedly. "I hear she's giving Minerva a hard time about it."

X sighed, but chuckled a bit. "I'm not surprised."

Zero remained silent, observing the interrogation with inquisitive eyes.

"Look, I don't know how many times I have to tell you morons; I. Don't. Know." Spotter said, looking incredibly annoyed. "I'm only a hired gun, got it?"

"And you're telling me you accepted a contract from people you don't know?" Hawkeye asked him scathingly. "Bullshit. We've seen your records; you don't do those mistakes." He walked over to the desk and leaned over it, glaring down at the prisoner. "Look jackass, either you help us, or we send you to the junkyard. It's that simple."

Spotter's eyes twitched a little; it was clear that for the mercenary, there was nothing to gain from dying. He sighed, and then looked up at Hawkeye hatefully. "All right, I'll talk."

Hawkeye nodded, unsmiling but satisfied. He stood back from the desk and folded his arms. "All right then. Talk."

"I don't know much about them, but they call themselves the Gospels," Spotter explained. "These are not the kind of people you mess around with, alright? What they can do, what they _have_ done, is nothing like anything any of you have seen before."

Hawkeye scoffed, smirking at Spotter. "Yeah, like we haven't heard that line before."

Spotter growled. "You don't understand. You know who I was targeting for? It was one of these Gospels who hired me. Those bolts of lightning you saw? They were rounds fired off of rail guns, understand? They were fired from 2000 miles away, out in the ocean. Don't bother asking me where though; they probably disappeared by now."

"Cute," Hawkeye said, looking unimpressed. "Quite frankly though, you haven't told us shit. We could have found this out on our own."

"_Then perhaps we can offer a bit more… information, hmm?"_

The voice came from Spotter, but his mouth hadn't moved at all. Everyone looked at him alarmed, and he himself looked down at his chest, his eye wide in what looked like pain. Suddenly his mouth and nose began to bleed and he began to shake uncontrollably.

"Hey hey hey what the hell's happening?!" Hawkeye shouted as the other reploid ran alarmed at Spotter and tried to hold him down.

Everyone in both floors watched as more blood oil began to bleed off of Spotter, who continued to shake uncontrollably. Then the Maverick rose his head and let out an agonizing scream as a metal wolf's head burst out of his chest, spraying blood and inner reploid parts across the room and the glass.

"Oh my god," X said.

"A wolf's head?" Zero asked, pressing one hand on the glass as he tried to look at the object better. Axl remained silent in his horror, his eyes wide as he watched the bloody effigy.

The wolf's maw began to open, and a holographic image of a stylized letter G hovered in the room. There was silence for a moment before a male voice began to speak. It sounded odd, the speaker seeming to change his voice from somber to happy to sad with every word and intonation, almost as if the speaker couldn't decide what to feel.

"_Sorry for the mess, but he violated his contract you see. As for who we are, oh Hunters, we are the Gospel! No doubt you will ask what we want, or who we are composed of, or what is our ultimate goal, so let's get right to the point, hmm? I'm sure you'll all appreciate it, yes? Though we did have a nice grand speech prepared for you and all, but oh you wouldn't be interested in hearing that now would you? Of course you wouldn't… Oh! I seem to be rambling… I do that so much… No one would listen though, or are you? Well, let us continue_."

Everyone remained in rapt attention, silently listening to the strange voice and its incoherency. Hawkeye pulled out a small needle and bit down on it, listening while glaring at the hologram.

"_We want many things, yes, oh so many things. Too many almost, yet there are things we desire the most, things we desire collectively… Is that the right word? Collectively? I think it is, so I will use it. No problems with that, I'm sure. What we desire, haha, what we desire is a chance, and a chance to bring back something that this world is missing oh so much. I know what you're thinking; here comes others with those same stupid "world changing" goals as everyone else you've killed. Well no, for our desire is far more selfish_."

Whoever was speaking suddenly laughed, but X could have sworn that the laughter seemed to subtly turn into crying before going back into actual laughter. The intonations and even the words sounded so random it was hard to take seriously, yet it sent chills down X's spine. The speaker's voice sounded as if it came from a madman, or a ruined tape, or even a scratched record.

"_We are the Gospels! We are pieces who were once reploids! We have been destroyed, rebuilt and reborn! We are no longer… Oh my, I got lost… I've been rambling again, yes. Anyway, our goal, our ultimate objective, the point of our obsession, is among all of you. Yes, no wait the _points_ of our obsession!" Once again the strange laughter/crying came out. "Yeah, because it's more than one! Oh silly me! I've taken so much of your time already! You don't have much time to avoid the bomb_!"

"Did he say bomb?" Axl asked.

Hawkeye jumped and tackled the Hunter that was with him to the ground as the wolf's head exploded. X and the others jumped down as well as the glass behind them shattered from the force of the explosion. A sound like spattered paint greeted their ears amidst the explosion. As the smoke cleared and everyone got back on their feet, they saw that a W superimposed over a G was painted on their wall with reploid blood.

Just below that, smaller but no less noticeable, was the symbol of a wolf's head with it's jaws wide open.


	3. Rough Riders

**Chapter 2**

**Rough Riders**

It was another wet, cloudy Wednesday ( three days after the incident in New Capital ) in one of Repliforce's northern outposts, which was a modest complex surrounded by large steel walls and razor wire. An outpost that was well out of the way of any sort of important or dangerous areas, the soldiers and navigators inside had enjoyed a relative peace that made them rather lazy. The patrols were slow, the Reploids weren't as worried about outside events, and all around the inhabitants were pretty bored. It was unfortunate, then, that under the outpost was located an extremely secret and important storage of the most powerful substance to have been found on the planet. Perhaps the knowledge that barely anyone knew that this outpost even existed was reason enough for the higher-ups to believe it was a safe place to hide it, or maybe there was just some titanic screw-ups when it came to choosing a location.

Whatever the reason, the fact was that there was at least half a ton of bassinium hiding under that outpost, and the Rough Riders were there to get it.

Up on a hill overlooking the complex were twenty-one reploids who sat silently beside their motorcycles, all covered by large camouflage sheet they had bought from the internet. It was really a testament to how few and bad the patrols were that they were able to hide almost on plain sight with cheap camo tarp, "cheap" being too kind a word.

And people wonder why everything is so screwed up, thought the biker that was observing the complex through binoculars, lying prone on the grass.

The biker with the binoculars was different; he was the only who wore protective gear, including an indigo colored jumpsuit and a helmet he still wore with the visor raised. There was also the fact that he was the only one with long hair, and long it was, trailing down to his back in a long braid meant to keep the hair out of his face and from getting snagged somewhere uncomfortable. There was also the fact that, if it hadn't been for the leg armor, he would have looked completely human.

Another biker crawled towards him, lying completely flat on his stomach before addressing him. "What's it look like?" He asked in a low voice.

"It looks like they didn't see us coming after all," the indigo biker replied. "I don't think they've ever considered anyone to come up this hill. We could shoot them with rocks and they still wouldn't find us."

"You can't blame them. When was the last time this outpost was under attack?"

"Still, it's unforgivable. Besides," he added bitterly, "I just lost ten credits to the Chief."

"Oh," the biker chuckled. He looked around the area to see where their leader was, but didn't see him. "Where's the Chief?" He asked the indigo rider.

"Sleeping, as usual," the indigo rider said, getting up to one knee. "I'll go wake him up." He left hurriedly and silently, moving past the chatting bikers until he reached the only one sleeping against the largest bike covered by a tarp.

At first glance, one might have thought this Reploid was some robotic relic. He was as dirty as can be, wearing an old muddy World War 1 German trench coat and even a gas mask that came from the same war. He even wore their helmet, though he had made a point to remove the spike from the top. The rest of him was considerably grey and a sickly green, almost as if he had halfheartedly started painting his armor and decided halfway that it looked fine that way it was. His most colorful piece of clothing, as it stood, was the yellow scarf tied around his neck. This miserly example of a Reploid was Chief Toxman, the Road Master, a title he had no trouble giving himself.

"Chief," the indigo rider said in a low voice, shaking Toxman gently. "Chief, it's time to move. Chief." He shook him a bit harder, yet still Toxman didn't wake. He shook him a bit more impatiently. "Chief! Chief, wake up!"

Once again, nothing, and the indigo rider's eyebrows twitched with impatience. He stood up, picked up a wrench from his belt, and smashed it unto Toxman's head. The Chief let out a loud "Ow!" before falling on his face. No one reacted to this act of violence; it was just the second-in-command's way of waking up their leader. Toxman groaned as he got up to his knees, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay, I'm awake now PB," he said. He let out a loud yawn and straightened his gas mask, then looked up at his second-in-command. "So, how does it look?"

"We could probably walk in through the front door before anybody notices," the indigo rider replied. "And it's Akiba, Chief."

"Not until you get a haircut it ain't," Toxman said, getting up to his feet and revealing just how tall he really was, been almost seven feet in tall. He stretched out his arms and smiled under his mask at the annoyed biker. "Now, what do you say we get moving?"

Akiba rolled his eyes and walked away to his own motorcycle. "Men don't stride, PB!" The Chief told him, and in response was hit with a flying wrench between the eyes, making him see stars and fall on his back. He shook his head to shake off the daze and laughed a bit, then sat right up and looked around at his Riders.

"Alright boys and gals, we're rolling!" Toxman shouted, and the Riders cheered and readied immediately. Everywhere on the hill, camo tarps were pulled off to reveal customized choppers and muscle bikes, each one more different than the last, all armed with guns and mortars and emblazoned with the flaming wheel of the Rough Riders. When Akiba pulled on the drape, it revealed a much more modern and stylish motorcycle, it's sleek design very good at hiding all the extra features he had added to it. When he sat on the bike, the gray coloring slowly turned to indigo, perfectly matching his jumpsuit.

Toxman shook his head at Akiba before turning to his own bike. He removed the tarp and revealed a large red and black muscle bike that could have been a car. It was almost the length of a whole car with an engine large and powerful enough to turn a 1 ton truck into a race car. The wheels were large yet not too wide that he couldn't turn them like any other bike, and the four large exhaust pipes that stuck out the back of the bike ensured that no one would ever miss the sight of it. Emblazoned on the side of the bike was the same fire wheel, but superimposed over it, written in gold lettering, read "Great King".

Toxman got on his motorcycle and revved the engine, and a loud roar greeted his ears as the powerful bike came to life. Almost as one, all the other bikers revved their engines, including Akiba. The cacophony of sound that rose was so loud and terrible that the entire complex felt the vibrations. Soldiers everywhere turned to the direction of the sound and found to their disbelief two dozen bikers roaring down the hill straight at them, leaving behind a large trail of dust left by their wheels and a cloud of smoke that belched from their engines.

The soldier Reploids began to scramble, preparing their defenses in response to the incoming attack, but they were too slow. Each Rider rode a motorcycle that reach breakneck speeds of 150 mph, and by the time the complex moved to react it would be too late. The bikers with the mortars fired smoke bombs that exploded behind the complex walls, further complicating the process.

As they drew closer, Toxman stretched out his hand to his side. "Lance!" He called out. One of the bikers tossed the weapon, which was little more than a twelve feet long steel pipe with 35 pounds of C4 taped to its front, all wired to a pressure sensitive detonator at the tip. Toxman steadied the pipe as he got closer.

"This is gonna hurt!" He yelled out just before impact.

There was a tremendous explosion that could be heard for a mile, and the western section of the wall simply blew into the complex, injuring many inside. The Riders hadn't stopped, however, and not even the force of the explosion held them back as they stormed into compound, beating down with metal clubs any of the defenders outside who weren't already down.

Toxman didn't need to give orders; this whole operation had been planned and practiced again and again back at their base. He and Akiba rode straight for the main entrance, and as they got closer, Akiba flipped a small switch that brought out two small plasma cannons from the front of his bike. He fired, and the shots burned a hole through large enough for both he and Toxman to ride through. The duo, now inside, rode past the gunfire of the inner defenders and into the base in earnest. They expertly rode down the halls and corridors, knowing where to go from the blueprints they had stolen months prior.

Needless to say, the resulting chaos compelled the colonel of the complex to call for aid. "We can't let them near the bassinium!" He shouted desperately into his comm as he ran down the stairs that lead to the entrance of the guarded substance. "Call the general and have him send reinforcements as quickly as possible! If they get their hands on this, then---!"

He stopped short at the nearing roar of motorcycles. "Damn!"

Toxman pushed his bike forward through his handles, making the back tire rise up. He then turned his bike and managed to make it drift with one wheel on the wall and one wheel on the ground, stopping only because he hit the wall at the opposite end of the corridor. Thus he managed to directly face the horrified colonel as they looked at each other across the stairs. Toxman revved his engine and rode down extremely fast at the man. Before the colonel could even raise his gun, Toxman made a small wheelie and slammed the front wheel against the man's chest, smashing him against the metal door and crushing his chest and insides to pulp before the door blew open from the sheer force of the impact into the wide catwalk. Toxman skidded to a halt, and the engine finally rumbled quietly. He nodded at the dead colonel.

"Excuse me," he said, and then looked around at the dark room. "Where'd the lights go?"

Akiba had walked down the stairs, found a light switch just next to the entrance, and flipped it. Suddenly, the lights of the entire chamber lit up, and Toxman let out a low whistle.

Crates upon crates where stacked all across the floor of the chamber, each one containing dozens of small tanks that read "Bassinium" in clear black letters. Akiba got off his bike and leaned on the rails, looking down at the crates, lifting his visor to get a better view. Toxman stood beside him, stretching out his arms before resting his hands on top of his head.

"So, what's our time?" Toxman asked.

"We're twenty minutes ahead of schedule," Akiba replied. "Our employers should arrive with pickup in ten minutes."

Toxman chuckled. "Best time we've ever made on a job yet, I think," he said contently.

"Yeah yeah," Akiba said disinterestedly.

"You do know you owe me another twenty credits?" Toxman reminded.

Akiba sighed, lowering his head on the rail. "Yes."

"Good then," Toxman said. He walked back to his bike, then lied down on the seat, resting his head on the handle and propping his feet up the back. Akiba looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you going to do?" He asked him.

"I'm taking a nap," Toxman said, yawning loudly. "Wake me up when the pickup gets here."

Unfortunately for Toxman and his Riders, the call had been answered. Despite the fact that everything had been planned under the understanding that reinforcements would arrive, they hadn't expected the call to be answered so quickly, especially not when they were so ahead of schedule. Close by, as it was, was an airborne transport aircraft that was taking X to the outpost. He was supposed to aid in relocating the bassinium before he had received the message, and was now urging the pilot to go faster. The Rough Riders were only half done loading the stuff into the hangar when his transport had been seen.

"Boy, the shit really hit the fan," Toxman said after he had been informed by a scout. "That transport will be here in a minute."

"If we double time it, we can be done in ten minutes and use one of Repliforce's own ships," Akiba told the chief. "It might take some time, but it doesn't look like we have it."

"Make it so then," Toxman said, getting back on his bike.

"What are you gonna do?" Akiba asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Buy you some time of course," Toxman replied with a small smile. "I should be able to hold him back long enough for you guys to take off."

"Take off? Wait Tox--!" Akiba's sentence was cut short as Toxman revved his engine loudly and rode out the hangar. Akiba let out a frustrated yell as he watched his leader leave faster than his voice could reach him, then angrily turned on the rest of the Riders who had stopped working to observe. "What the hell are you all staring at?!" He yelled at them. "Come on, you heard him! Double time it!"

Needless to say, against such palpable anger, the men began to work that much faster, while two of the female reploids went inside the nearby ship and entered the cockpit to start up the craft.

X jumped down unto the runway from his hovering transport craft and gave the OK signal to the pilot. The pilot nodded and left, as X didn't want to risk getting the ship attacked. He looked down the runway and could see the hangar not too far off, along with what looked like a line of desperately working Reploids, all loading their cargo into a Repliforce cargo craft. X began running towards the hangar, but stopped short at the roaring sound of an approaching motorcycle. He looked to his left and barely had enough time to register the motorcycle before the rider's hand stretched out and grabbed his head, literally dragging him across the floor.

"Hey there!" The rider greeted over the engine. "You don't mind getting a lift, do ya?"

Toxman tightened his grip on X's head and tossed him forward while skidding his motorcycle to a halt. X flew like a missile and crashed into the tank of a nearby fuel truck. Toxman pulled out a small black vial filled with a green chemical and casually threw it at the tank. It shattered on impact, and it all burned up, causing a massive explosion that turned the truck into slag. Toxman stretched out his arms and yawned.

"Well, that was easy," he told himself. "Gotta admit, I didn't think any of that would work."

He then tilted his head as he watched the reploid he had attacked dash out of the wreckage, firing his buster at him. Toxman didn't have much time to react, so he jumped off his bike while kicking it aside to save it from the green bolt that was shot towards it. He then rolled on the ground and got up one knee, looking up at the blue opponent that now stood before him. He sighed, standing up to his full height and patting his coat.

"Man, I guess making this quick was too much to ask for," he said as he watched the blue bomber point his buster at him. "Who are you anyway? You're not from Repliforce. I can tell at least that much."

"I'm X, from the Maverick Hunters," X told him, glaring at Toxman. "I came here to detain you."

Toxman crossed his arms and chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that could sort of spoil a few plans."

"I'd prefer it if things didn't have to get violent," X warned, his X-Buster still trained on Toxman.

"I know I know," Toxman said, looking at X while keeping his arms folded. "So tell ya what; you let us load up the cargo and leave while pretending to have gotten here too late, and I'll give you my cut of the pay." He finished with a small, unseen smile, making gun fingers and pointing them at X.

X was a little speechless over this. It was hands-down the most ridiculous thing anyone had ever offered him. "You're not serious?!" He asked him ludicrously.

"By the way, did you know I used to be a Maverick Hunter?" Toxman asked him amusedly.

"What?!"

"Nah, just kidding," Toxman said, and suddenly kicked into the air the vial he had at the tip of his foot.

The glass vial broke on X's forehead and exploded, knocking X back against the ground. Toxman then jumped into the air and fell on X, who rolled out of the way just before Toxman's knee slammed unto the floor. X got up on his feet and fired various shots at Toxman, who dashed back and to the right to dodge them. Toxman then pulled out various more small vials and tossed them at X. X moved out of the way this time, though when the vials exploded smoke came out instead of fire. Blinded, X fired in the Toxman's general direction while dashing to get out of the smoke. When he did get out of the smoke, he heard glass cracking under his foot and realized he had stepped into yet more vials, which in turn exploded and sent him flying back another five feet before he landed on his back. He staggered to his feet and found Toxman, standing twenty yards in front of him, his arms crossed and a calm expression dominating his eyes.

X fired at Toxman a fully charged shot. Toxman didn't even move the as the shot missed him by inches, flying past him and exploding against what was left of the destroyed fuel truck. X looked at himself, realizing something was horribly wrong. Toxman noticed and dashed straight for him, kneeing him on the face and knocking X back on the floor. He then stomped on X's chest and pressed on the Maverick Hunter's chest to stop him from moving.

"Really sorry about that," Toxman said apologetically. "I've got a job to do so I can't really let you just stop us, ya know?"

X breathed hard and tried to focus on Toxman, but the Maverick was getting increasingly blurry with every second. In fact, X realized he was having trouble just staying awake, or even moving his body. He felt sluggish, unfocused and could barely keep his thoughts in order. He glared up at Toxman, knowing the Maverick had done something to his body. Toxman chuckled, knowing full well what X was thinking.

"Well, as I'm sure you've noticed, you've been poisoned," he told X, taking his foot off X's chest. "It's kinda hard to poison Reploids, as our systems are more effective at handling chemicals than any human biology, but there are still ways around that. I'd tell you how I did it, but then how am I gonna get away with it next time, eh? I will tell you this, however; the poison that is currently turning your world upside down is specifically designed to mess with your sensory receptors, such as sight, sound and even taste and smell. Hell, I probably sound like Darth Vader and smell of strawberries with coconuts right now." He rummaged in his coat pockets and pulled off two black vials. He put each one side by side beside X.

"Alright then kid, here's how it goes; one of these contains precious and admittedly delicious antidote, the other one contains the same sort of phosphorous you find in the grenades of the same name. My poison also weakens you to the point where you only have enough strength to move a limb of your choice in one critical motion. So, after you pick one and open it, you can't roll away, and if you pick the wrong one, well… You're going to understand what a barbecue feels like."

The cargo craft hovered over both Reploids as it lowered its ramp. Akiba peeked over the ramp down at Toxman. "Chief, we gotta go! Repliforce is on its way!"

"Right right!" Toxman shouted back. He jumped up to the ramp and landed beside Akiba. "You got the King?"

Akiba nodded, pointing at Toxman's motorcycle, which was leaned comfortably on the side.

Suddenly, a green bolt of energy grazed Toxman's shoulder, injuring him and damaging some of the craft on the inside. Toxman fell in forward surprise and pain as Akiba quickly pressed the button to close the ramp. Toxman looked at himself; and ignoring Akiba's worried words he looked back at X.

X still had his Buster raised, though couldn't focus for the life of him to fire a second shot. Toxman leaned a bit to look at the vials and realized that neither had been touched. He blinked, looked back at X, and laughed a bit as the ramp shut.

"What's so funny?" Akiba asked irritated, eyeing the injury worriedly.

"That guy sure is something, PB," he told Akiba. "I don't think he knows that poison isn't actually lethal, yet he preferred to take another crack at me. I don't think I would have been able to stand up to him if it had been a straight up brawl."

"You sell yourself too short, Chief."

"Maybe," Toxman said, sitting on the floor against the wall and taking off his trench coat. "Did the other Riders make it out okay?"

"Yeah," PB told him. "They were able to go through the escape routes undetected, so we should be able to meet them at the rendezvous point."

"Great," Toxman said. He pulled out a small syringe and stretched out his arm. He pulled off a small part of skin and revealed the small round slot where he'd insert the needle. As he did, he injected into himself a small, bluish mixture that made his entire body tense up as it burned him inside. He let out a relieved sigh when he finished.

"The 12th Air Cavalry, unfortunately, is arriving though," Akiba told Toxman, frowning slightly.

"That's okay," Toxman said confidently. He pulled out a small remote with a trigger switch. "I've got the whole thing covered."

He pulled the trigger, and a moment of silence was followed by a tremendous explosion as the entire outpost was utterly destroyed, rising up great plumes of smoke and debris and leaving nothing standing, all the thanks to the half a ton of explosive chemicals and C4 Toxman had left behind. X, still unconscious, had been blasted off into the air, landing heavily almost a mile away on the ground, within sight of the speeding 12th.

Toxman chuckled at the sight of his handiwork, lying back against the wall and letting himself fall on his rear. He stretched, put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, ignoring Akiba's surprised expression. He had forgotten that he hadn't told Akiba about this part of the plan.

"I'm tired PB," he told his second-in-command. "Wake me up when we get there, eh?"

Akiba nodded, and soon after Toxman fell asleep.


End file.
